Orrville Department of Public Utilities - Executive Summary |
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If an accidental release of chlorine from a one ton cylinder were to occur in a storage room at the Orrville Water Treatment Plant, the employees would respond according to a procedure developed in the facility's Risk Management Program. A part of this program involves the Risk Management Plan, which describes the types of toxic releases that could occur and how many persons would be affected within a certain area. The plan also lists the local agencies that would be contacted and information on what mitigation systems, emergency plans, and prevention programs are already in place. The Risk Management Plan also indicates what steps have been taken to improve facility safety and provide a more efficient operation. The following briefly summarizes the key elements of the Risk Management Plan for the Orrville Water Treatment Plant. a. Accidental Release Prevention and Emergency Response Policies The Orrville Water treatment plant has a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) incor porated within their Accidental Release Prevention Program. There is a checklist that ensures that proper safety is being used in such areas as general operation and maintenance, human factors, storage of chlorine, feeding chlorine to the system, and the transferring of chlorine cylinders. These 'what if ' based questions address potential problems that may occur while handling the chlorine cylinders, such as a valve break or a line leak. The Orrville Water treatment plant also has a chlorine safety program that serves as their accidental release prevention program. The emergency response policy of the Orrville Water Treatment Plant is incorporated into the City of Orrville Emergency response plan. The basic procedure for handling a release of chorine starts with trying to contain the leak following the procedures in the chlorine safety program. If the leak or opening cannot be contained within the storage room, then someone will notify the fire department. The fire departmen t will then make a decision to notify the public and evacuate the affected area. The employees at the water plant are trained yearly on emergency procedures involving a chemical release. During this training, employees practice using the necessary personal protective equipment (such as air packs) for such emergencies. b. Source and Regulated Substances Handled The source of concern for this release is one ton cylinders of chlorine. The chlorine is a liquid under pressure, and is stored in a closed room. Two chlorine cylinders may be interconnected: one cylinder is in service while the other cylinder is in standby mode. c. Worst case and Alternative Scenarios The Risk Management Plan describes how a potential release of chlorine would affect an area. The worst-case scenario was obtained through using a guidance document from the AWWA. The worst case scenario consists of a 2000 lb release of chlorine from a ruptured one ton cylinder in ten minutes. The eductor system is in place to minimize a potential spill by collecting and neutralizing the chlorine gas. The alternative scenario is a more realistic representation of how the area would be affected if a release of chlorine occurred at this facility. In this scenario, a release of 2000 pounds of chlorine would take place due to a transfer hose failure within 31 minutes. d. General Accidental Release Prevention Program and Chemical Specific Prevention Program The Orrville Water Treatment plant has a chlorine safety program that covers delivery, moving, storing, and changing of chlorine cylinders. These procedures are directed at preventing any chemical release. All employees receive annual safety training on procedures for the safe handling of chlorine. The program outlines the precautions to take in avoiding an accidental release of chlorine into the atmosphere. The program also contains a separate section that describes the steps to be taken if a release of this nature would occur . e. Accident History The Orrville Water Treatment plant has had no accidents within the past five years. f. Any changes made by facility to improve safety In order to improve safety conditions at the water treatment facility, maximum inventory will be reduced. Also, the chlorine safety plan and operating procedures have been updated. |